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Hernando Today

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 26, 2008

Hedge Fund Traders
Buying The Presidency
The fact is oil is abundant worldwide. For example, there is shale-oil in the U.S. with an estimated 2.8 trillion to 3.3 trillion barrels of recoverable oil. That equals two-thirds of the world's total reserve of crude oil.

Additionally, Canada and Venezuela combined have an estimated 3.6 trillion barrels in recoverable oil from tar sand. The unbiased truth is President George Bush made it into law that hedge fund managers need only pay a 15 percent tax rate for their income earned while middle-class families have a 25 to 33 percent tax rate. And Bush's tax cuts on capital gains and dividends - the tax cut McCain wants to extend since his wife is the rich one at $400 million. Americans who make more than $1 million per year will save an average of $32,000, and the average American household will save only $20.

Now, when you hear or read any words similar to the following, "tensions, unrest, violence, failed negotiations, upheaval, conflict, war, coupe, retaliation, etc. and (God forbid) bad hurricane season," hedge fund managers translate this into excuses to manipulate the crude oil prices (futures).

What is the hedge fund managers' motive to manipulate crude oil prices? Here's a clue: In 2007, to make the top 50 hedge fund earners list you would have needed a minimum income of $150 million for that year!

The No. 1 earner, John Paulson, made $3.7 billion in one year. Collectively, the top 50 made $29 billion. That's an average of $581 million per year. Big Oil also has some blame, but Bush gave hedge fund managers a green-light and the incentive to manipulate the stock markets to their own personal greed.

Also questionable is the fact that hedge funding is closed to the public and is not monitored by the Federal Trade Commission. It is private investing limited to people with at least $1 million to invest and/or with a referral by an extremely wealthy current member in good standing. Hedge fund trading is a scam for the extremely wealthy - those who can buy a U.S. presidency.

Garrett Hood

Spring Hill

Oil Drilling Opponents

Appeasing Special Interests

This passed Sunday, the Hernando Today ran a couple of cartoons that implied that the artists and perhaps even the paper are against drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

I would ask these people and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and every other person that is against drilling - what do they want to do? They will tell us that oil drilling in the gulf will be an environmental disaster and yet in countries like Norway, where they have been drilling for years, have never had one ecological disaster, while in the Gulf of Mexico there are dead zones growing, not due to oil, but due to the agricultural runoff from the increase in crop production for ethanol production.

It truly amazes me that instead of looking for answers about our energy problems, all I hear out of Washington is "we can't." We can't drill in the Gulf or in Anwar. We can't lift the tariff on sugar-based ethanol from Brazil. We can't build nuclear power plants. We can't build wind turbines because they might hurt some migratory birds or spoil the view of some politicians.

What is their answer? Well, let's tax the hell out of the oil companies, which, by the way, will pass their taxes onto the consumer and regulate ourselves to death with endless new laws that will end up costing the consumers more.

I wonder how long it will take the American people to realize that many in Congress are not interested in the middle class. If they truly were interested, they would have done something long ago, but instead are only interested in appeasing special interest groups, especially the environmental groups.

Peter Stathis

Spring Hill

Editor's note: Hernando Today's editorial board is in favor oil drilling 50 miles off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico.

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